This album features solo piano compositions by Adam Andrews. It is his second album. The music captures the experience of a “retreat into the wilderness for reflection and renewal.” The overall tone is uplifting and expansive. Andrews lives in Colorado’s Rocky Mountains near Pikes Peak, providing an awesome natural landscape to inspire his creativity.

This album has twelve songs on it. Track 1: A Thousand Springs opens the concert with a mind-expanding sense of grandeur. Track 2: Authenticity Falls carries on with a water-inspired piano texture. Track 5: Night Embers is a pretty little serenade that makes effective use of arpeggios.

Solo piano albums are tricky to do successfully. It’s easy to fall into the trap of playing too many songs in the same key or repeat too many of the same pianistic mannerisms, melodic ideas, or chord progressions. Andrews does a fair job of avoiding these pitfalls. The material in each song is unique – which means he dedicated thought, time, and effort when he was putting his album together. He doesn’t get stuck at the top or the bottom of the keyboard but moves around freely. Some of his compositions are a bit jazzy. The listener can detect a sense of fun and playfulness in some of the songs.

This is a well-rounded collection of original piano compositions. It offers pleasant listening for relaxation and may appeal to some for use in rituals that integrate gentle body movements or interpretive dancing (with or without the faeries). A fine second helping from a new artist.

~review by Elizabeth Hazel

Artist: Adam Andrews
Adam Andrews 2015
12 tracks
www.admandrewsmusic.com